Colorado River officials are still sparring

Good morning, Colorado! Yesterday at the grocery store, “Last Christmas” came on the overhead speakers and I found myself flashing back to all the holiday seasons I spent stocking shelves while “Jingle Bell Rock” blared for the 6,000th time in the background.

I had some really great bosses during those years who navigated stressed out holiday crowds with grace and poise, and one of the most frequent complaints they’d get this time of year — mostly from staff — was about the music. Company policy, they’d shrug.

At this point the standard songs are little more than white noise to me — although my shoulders do tighten up a little bit when I hear the shakers at the start of “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”

On to today’s tunes.

Parker Yamasaki

Reporter

THE NEWS

WATER

Colorado River officials throw barbs during annual river conference while at odds over future water use

Top water negotiators have been at odds for years about the Colorado River water supply. Shannon Mullane attended the annual seven-state panel in Las Vegas this week to get a glimpse into their closed-door discussions and found that the rift between Upper Basin and Lower Basin states, which needs to close by August 2026, may be larger than ever before.

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HEALTH

Can eye transplants cure blindness? Colorado doctors just got $46M of federal funding to find out.

A research team from the CU Anschutz Medical Campus is part of a group effort — joining teams from Stanford, the University of Miami and Harvard — to cure blindness. John Ingold looks at the intersection of two innovations pushing this project forward: a new funding model from the federal government and the science of transplanting a complete human eye.

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OUTDOORS

Steamboat Springs approves $1.6M for trail amid debate over who should benefit most from publicly funded recreation

In 2013 Steamboat Springs residents voted to use lodging tax revenue to build new trails. But as the town’s population has grown and changed over the past decade, so too has its ideas about where trails should be built, and to what end. Jason Blevins reports on how the council wants to spend their final allocation from the funding plan that expires next year.

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• The Outsider ☀️ Steamboat Trails debate highlights debate over public funds for residents vs. tourists. Plus: A pair of hunting groups sue Colorado Parks and Wildlife over an opinion column, Loveland’s Jeremy Bloom gets tapped to be the new X Games CEO and more from the outdoor world.
• Fact Brief ☀️ Are service dogs allowed on trails in Colorado, even if pets aren’t? A video of a woman arguing with a group of college students at a wildlife preserve in Fort Collins sparked debate about where service dogs can and can’t go in Colorado. Por Jaijongkit looks into it.

OIL AND GAS

Consultants hired by Chevron, other large producers falsified oil and gas data, Colorado regulators say

Employees at two environmental consulting groups falsified data about toxins found in the soil and groundwater around 350 well sites in Weld County. According to reports, Chevron, Civitas and Occidental Petroleum, which own the sites, were notified of the bad data in July, but the state didn’t contact Weld County until last week. Mark Jaffe has more.

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MORE NEWS

• Recounts confirm that Democrats have lost their Colorado House supermajority. A net of four votes were changed in the two districts where recounts were dictated by Colorado law. Jesse Paul reports. 
• Independent review finds 13 ways UCCS should improve after fatal shooting on Colorado Springs campus. University employees were “generally aware” of the shooter, according to the report, but a clunky flag-raising system kept them in the dark about his most severe behavior. Olivia Prentzel has details and recommendations from the 91-page report.

Section by Parker Yamasaki | Reporter

THE COLORADO REPORT

• Morrison is dissolving its police department, citing “financial concerns.” The town of 400 will contract with the Jefferson County police for law enforcement beginning at the start of the year.
  — The Denver Post ????
• Arapahoe County deputy resigns after discovery of her adult videos, says financial pressure pushed her into pornography. “I was desperate, I was drowning. I found a legal, lucrative means for providing that support for my family that I needed at that time to save my home for them and feed my family.”
  — CBS News
• Woman found dead in Colorado over 51 years ago finally identified. The body of a woman found dead near Platteville in 1973 has been identified as Roxanne Colleen Leadbeater, according to the Weld County Sheriff’s Office.
  — KDVR
• City of Boulder proposes scrapping occupancy limits, removing the word “family” from  housing-related city code. The proposal is a response to a state law banning controversial occupancy limits based on familial relationships.
  — Boulder Reporting Lab

???? = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Kevin Jeffers | Product Team

THE OPINION PAGE

CARTOONS

In “What’d I Miss?” Myra processes the disappointing election results and resolves to fight harder for her values. But Ossie wonders: Isn’t that what everyone said before?

CARTOON

Jim Morrissey isn’t sure people will look up from their smartphone screens long enough to process the all-too-fitting word of the year.

CARTOON

Drew Litton has got the bye-week blues as fans of the Denver Broncos and football at any level hit that dead spot on the calendar when weekend chores get done.

CARTOON

The Colorado Sun is a nonpartisan news organization, and the opinions of columnists and editorial writers do not reflect the opinions of the newsroom. Read our ethics policy for more on The Sun’s opinion policy and submit columns, suggest writers or provide feedback at opinion@coloradosun.com.

Podcast Playlist

CONVERSATION

Each weekday The Daily Sun-Up podcast brings you a thoughtful conversation, a bit of Colorado history, and headlines of the day. We keep it tight so you can listen on the go, or stack up a few and tune in at your leisure. Download the Sun-Up for free on your favorite podcasting app, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or RSS to plug into your app. Check out this week’s lineup:

• Colorado’s governor is headed for showdown with party, unions. Gov. Jared Polis is on another collision course with fellow Democrats in the legislature and the Colorado labor movement. Politics reporters Jesse Paul and Brian Eason analyze the pending conflict.
  LISTEN
• Can a town of 1,500 people really buy a Colorado ski resort? It’s certainly not unheard of in the West. Sun outdoors reporter Jason Blevins breaks down the thinking behind Nederland’s idea to purchase nearby Eldora Mountain ski area.
  LISTEN
• Temp team talk. Scribes of our Temperature newsletter — John Ingold and Michael Booth — talk health and environment news: trains that would move giant solar-powered batteries from Pueblo to Denver and a moonshot search for a blindness cure.
  LISTEN
• Holiday season shopping is gearing up. Black Friday. Small Business Saturday. Cyber Monday. Sun business and tech reporter Tamara Chuang has followed the retail industry for years, and she gives her take on the history of the changing shopping patterns.
  LISTEN
• Life after Anne. Colorado author Logan Steiner’s new historical novel is built around the life of Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of “Anne of Green Gables.” She talks about “After Anne: A Novel of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Life” with SunLit editor Kevin Simpson. LISTEN

????️ Remember, you can ask Siri, Alexa or Google to “play the Daily Sun-Up podcast” and we’ll play right on your smart speaker. As always we appreciate your feedback and comments at podcast@coloradosun.com.

Section by David Krause | Editor

See you back here Monday!

— Parker & the whole staff of The Sun

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Corrections & Clarifications

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